


I Like You the Most

by marichatting



Series: The Twelve Days of Christmas [5]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marichatting/pseuds/marichatting
Summary: Reggie comforts Luke on his first Christmas after running away from home.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: The Twelve Days of Christmas [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056428
Comments: 11
Kudos: 104





	I Like You the Most

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5 of the Twelve Days of Christmas!

Reggie hesitantly approached the door to the studio at Bobby’s house, a tin of freshly baked cookies in hand. He had no idea what kind of mood Luke was going to be in on the other side of the door. He lightly knocked three times and waited for a response.

“Come in,” Luke’s voice called from inside.

Reggie slowly pulled the door open and entered the studio. “Hey,” he said softly. “How are you?”

Luke was sitting on the couch with his guitar, an open notebook and pen on the coffee table in front of him. He shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess.”

Reggie sat down on the couch next to him and offered him the tin. “I made cookies for you.”

Luke smiled softly and took the cookies, setting them down on the coffee table. “Thanks, Reg.”

Reggie glanced at the notebook on the table. “What are you writing?”

Luke looked down at his lap silently, then back up at Reggie. “It’s for my mom,” he said softly.

“Oh,” Reggie said with a pang in his heart. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Luke assured him.

Reggie hesitated. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Luke shrugged. “It’s been two weeks, Reg. We’ve already talked about it.”

“Yeah, but it’s Christmas,” Reggie pointed out. “And I know you and your mom always did Christmas stuff together, and it’s your first one without her. Are you  _ sure _ you’re okay?”

Luke looked down at his lap for a long moment, swallowed hard, then shook his head.

“No,” he said, his voice quiet and smaller than Reggie had ever heard it. “I’m not. But I think I will be. Eventually.”

Reggie paused, then gestured to the notebook. “Can I hear the song? I mean, you don’t have to play it if it’s too much right now or if it’s too private or you don’t want me to hear it or-”

“Yeah,” Luke said. “You can hear it.”

He picked up his guitar and started gently strumming, and Reggie closed his eyes, letting Luke’s voice wash over him.

_ “First things first, we start the scene in reverse, all of the lines rehearsed disappeared from my mind.” _

Reggie opened his eyes to look at Luke, who was glancing back and forth between his fingers playing the chords and the lyrics in his notebook. He had his brow furrowed, but Reggie couldn’t tell if that was in concentration or sadness.

_ “When things got loud, one of us running out, I should have turned around, but I had too much pride.” _

Reggie swallowed back a lump in his own throat. Luke had been his best friend since the fourth grade, and it was hard to see him hurting like this.

_ “No time for goodbyes, didn’t get to apologize. Pieces of a clock that lies broken.” _

A tear escaped Reggie’s eye. He could relate to parental problems, but he couldn’t even imagine what Luke was going through. Even though they fought, he loved his mother, and being away from her was clearly destroying him.

_ “If I could take us back, if I could just do that, and write in every empty space the words ‘I love you’ in replace, then maybe time would not erase me.” _

Reggie’s breath hitched as Luke’s voice got softer on some of the higher notes, and he couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. He tried to wipe them from his face discreetly, but he was sure Luke noticed.

_ “If you could only know, I never let you go. And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave,” _ Luke sang as a tear slipped down his own cheek.  _ “Unsaid, Emily.” _

Reggie sniffed as Luke stopped playing. “That’s beautiful, Luke.”

“Thanks,” Luke said quietly, wiping his face. “I, um… I was thinking that maybe I could, y’know, sing it to her someday. I mean, I’d like to see her again eventually. I’m honestly not sure she  _ wants _ to see me right now, but… someday, maybe.”

“I’m sure she wants to see you,” Reggie told him. “She loves you. She’d be thrilled to see you.”

“Maybe,” Luke said. “But hey, I have plenty of time, right? We’re gonna be famous rockstars one day, and then I can go home and show my parents that they were wrong about my dreams being unrealistic. And I can sing her the song, and we’ll be fine.”

Reggie nodded. “I think she would love to hear this song. But I’m sure she would rather hear from you sooner than later. She’s probably worried sick.”

Luke shook his head. “Look, I’ll tell you what: it’s our dream to play the Orpheum, right? When we finally get there, I’ll go to my parents’ house the very next day, I’ll play her the song, and I’ll apologize. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“So, for now, let’s just…” Luke trailed off, then suddenly grabbed the cookies off the coffee table. “Let’s just eat some cookies and enjoy Christmas.”

Reggie smiled. “Okay.”

Luke opened the tin and looked inside. His face lit up at the sight of the cookies, which were shaped and decorated to look like presents, Christmas trees, and snowmen. However, Reggie had never decorated cookies before, so they came out somewhat… off-looking.

“Reg,” Luke beamed, picking up a snowman cookie out of the tin. “Did you decorate these?”

“Yeah,” Reggie looked away, his face heating up. “I know they’re not very good, but-”

“Are you kidding?” Luke interrupted. “They’re so cute.”

“Really?” Reggie asked.

“Mmhmm,” Luke nodded, then bit the head off the snowman and smiled. “And they taste amazing! I love them. Thanks, Bug.”

Reggie’s heart fluttered at the sound of the familiar nickname Luke always used for him whenever he was feeling sappy.

“Thanks, Luke. I’m glad you like them.”

“Did they come from a bigger batch, or did you make them just for me?” Luke asked, then ate the rest of the cookie.

“Just for you,” Reggie said.

“Thank you,” Luke said, reaching out to hold Reggie’s hand. “But why? We don’t usually do Christmas gifts.”

Reggie paused, his mouth suddenly going dry at the feeling of Luke’s hand holding his. It wasn’t unusual for them to hold hands, as Luke was a very cuddly friend, but it still made Reggie’s heart race every time. “I was afraid you would be sad today,” he admitted. “And I wanted to do something to cheer you up.”

Luke stared at him for a moment, then pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you, Bug,” he whispered over Reggie’s shoulder.

“Of course, Lukie,” Reggie whispered back. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” Luke murmured. “And I feel the same way for you.”

_ No you don’t, _ a voice in Reggie’s head whispered.  _ You don’t feel anything near what I feel for you. _

Luke pulled away from the hug and stared at him for a moment before speaking.

“Reggie,” he said, his voice soft. “Can I tell you something?”

Reggie nodded. “Of course.”

Luke hesitated. “You might not like it. I just… really need to get this off my chest.”

“Luke,” Reggie gently squeezed the other boy’s hand. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“Yeah, I know,” Luke said, looking down at his lap. “This is just… different.”

“What’s going on?”

Luke took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I like you, Reggie. As more than a friend.”

Reggie’s heart skipped a beat. “You… what?”

“I like you the same way I like girls sometimes,” Luke clarified. “And I don’t think I’m gay, because I  _ do _ like girls, but-”

“Can I kiss you?” Reggie blurted out before he could stop himself.

Luke froze, his eyes wide and his cheeks growing red. “What?”

“C- can I kiss you?” Reggie repeated the question, his voice softer this time as he felt his own face heating up.

Luke nodded.

His heart pounding, Reggie leaned in and kissed Luke, their fingers still interlocked. His lips were warm and soft, just like he’d always imagined. When they finally pulled apart, they simply sat together for a long moment with their foreheads pressed together, neither of them speaking.

“So…” Luke finally said, breaking the silence. “Does this mean you’re gay?”

“Bisexual,” Reggie said, moving back just a bit so he could look at Luke. “That’s what Alex called it. I like every gender.”

Luke nodded. “Me, too, I think.” Then he smiled. “But I like you the most.”

Reggie felt himself blushing. “I like you the most, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment with feedback and/or a request! Thanks!
> 
> -Emma
> 
> Find me on Twitter: [lukesreggies ](https://twitter.com/lukesreggies)  
> 


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